The instant invention is in the field of dental surgery, and more particularly pertains to the implanting of artificial teeth.
Dental science will do anything possible to preserve an existing natural tooth, even if the tooth is dead, provided it is structurally intact, by means of root canals, caps, crowns, and so forth. Once the tooth is gone, bridgework may be used, or in some cases, an artificial tooth is implanted into the jawbone by drilling a hole into the jawbone, driving a post into that hole, and forming a tooth on the top of the post.
Drilling a hole in the jawbone is somewhat drastic oral surgery, and is painful. There also may be a delay involved while the post, which has been driven down into the hole in the jawbone, is engaged by the jawbone material, before the amalgam or enamel which will form the tooth can be formed around the top of the post. All of this is quite uncomfortable to the patient.
There is, therefore, a need for a technique to implant a tooth immediately after the natural tooth has been extracted, taking advantage of the natural alveolus left in the jawbone which formerly housed the root of the natural tooth. By taking advantage of the natural alveolus in this way, and by immediately mounting or implanting an artificial tooth, the trauma of dental extraction could be combined temporarily with the implantation of the artificial tooth, thus minimizing the trauma of the entire ordeal to the patient.